A large lidded Opaline decorative two handled vase in ovoid form with raised gilt floral paintings of pastel colour on both the front and back sides. Dating from mid 19th century and bulbous from the neck down it continuously tapers to the base. The neck is comprised of a bronze continuous ring  highlighted with lines and semi circles. Curled- in acanthus handles spring from the bronze ring arond the neck and rest upon the shoulders of the vase. The lid is decorated with circular raised designs with a floral design in between. A small finial sits atop.  The vase sits on a bronze floral base which is turned out at the corners.
 
The term "opaline" refers to a number of different styles of glassware. By opaline glass we mean a milky glass, which can be white or colored, and is made translucent or opaque by adding particular phosphates or oxides during the mixing. In France, the term "opaline" is used to refer to multiple types of glass, and not specifically antique colored crystal or semi-crystal, as is commonly thought, with 'opaline' often a mistakenly-given term referring to the color of a particular type of glass, rather than the age, origin or content of the glass.
The first objects in opaline glass were made in Murano in the sixteenth century, with the addition of calcium phosphate, resulting from the calcination of bones. The technique did not remain secret and was copied in Germany, where this glass was known as bein glass. Opaline glass was produced in large quantities in France in the nineteenth century and reached the apex of diffusion and popularity during the empire of Napoleon III; but the pieces made in the period of Napoleon I, which are translucent, are the most sought after by the antiques market.
The production centers were in Le Creusot, in Baccarat, in Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche. In England it was produced in the eighteenth century, in Bristol. From the mid-nineteenth century opaque opal glass objects came into fashion. At the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, a production line in white milk glass, decorated by hand, was experimented with, which attempted to imitate the transparency of Chinese porcelain.
With this particular glass objects of common use were handcrafted: vases, bowls, cups, goblets, carafes, perfume bottles, boxes, lamps. Some objects were also decorated in cold enamel, with flowers, with landscapes, with birds. Sometimes a bronze or silver support was added to the opal vase.